The Marauders Read The Harry Potter Series: Book One
by TheEndsongAbyssXV
Summary: When Sirius finds a strange book, he and his fellow Marauders, along with a few others, decide to delve into the world of the mysterious Harry Potter. "What's the worst that could happen? It's not reading a book will change our lives or anything."
1. Chapter 1

It was a rainy Saturday morning in November, and and many students were staying at school for their Thanksgiving holidays, for one reason or another. This included James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Lily Potter, Severus Snape, Alice Whitcomb, and Frank Longbottom, along with a few others.

Lily and Remus were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, quietly studying when the door burst open and a panting, sweating Sirius Black rushed in, something clutched in his arms. His eyes were wild on his handsom face, and he raced up the stairs to the dormitory, hollering at the top of his lungs.

"Prongs! Come here, you've got to see this!" His cries were answered with silence, and remus watched in mild amusement as the raven haired teen stomped his foot childishly. "Oi, James! Come here _now_!" he seemed on the verge of hysteria.

"What's wrong, Sirius?" Lily asked, brushing a lock of dark red hair behind her ear.

All the shouting had attracted more students out of their dormitories. Frank Longbottom and his girlfriend, Alice, were standing next to th door to the boys' rooms, and Denzel Strife was coming into the common room, looking wary.

"Bit loud today, aren't you?" the teen asked. Sirius huffed and gasped as James made his appearance, pulling a shirt on over his head.

"For the love of Merlin, Padfoot, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Sirius shoved what was in his arms into James's face, and took a deep breath. "I was in the library," he ignored the laughter from Lily and Alice. "when I came across this book. It's called _Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone_. Got anyone named Harry in your family, Prongs?"

James tilted his head. The boy on the cover looked exactly like him, and it wasn't surprising as to why it had gotten Sirius so worked up. "Can't say that I do, mate."

Sirius was practically vibrating at this point. He leaned in close and whispered in James's ear, "This book was published in 1998. That's the future, Prongs! This Harry bloke could damn well be your kid!"

James blinked. "We'll just have to read it an find out then, won't we, Paddy?"

At this point, Remus had walked over with Lily.

"A book that has captured your attention?" Lily smirked. "and it's _not_ about Quidditch?"

"Let's give it a shot." Lupin said. He took the book and walked up to the dormitory where they could read without being overheard. People would think they were bonkers if they read this out loud.

"Me first!" Sirius cried, flopping onto his bed. Lupin examined the cover art and looked at all of the people in the room. There were six of them, so they could all take turns.

"If it is about the future, and this boy is indeed James's son, then I think he should read first." The sandy haired teen said. Lily smiled.

"I agree. We'll go clockwise from James. So it'll be James, myself, Remus, Alice, Frank and Sirius."

James nodded and took the book from his fellow Marauder, opening it to the first chapter. "The Boy Who Lived…"


	2. Chapter 2

It was a rainy Saturday morning in November, and and many students were staying at school for their Thanksgiving holidays, for one reason or another. This included James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Lily Potter, Severus Snape, Alice Whitcomb, and Frank Longbottom, along with a few others.

Lily and Remus were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, quietly studying when the door burst open and a panting, sweating Sirius Black rushed in, something clutched in his arms. His eyes were wild on his handsom face, and he raced up the stairs to the dormitory, hollering at the top of his lungs.

"Prongs! Come here, you've got to see this!" His cries were answered with silence, and remus watched in mild amusement as the raven haired teen stomped his foot childishly. "Oi, James! Come here _now_!" he seemed on the verge of hysteria.

"What's wrong, Sirius?" Lily asked, brushing a lock of dark red hair behind her ear.

All the shouting had attracted more students out of their dormitories. Frank Longbottom and his girlfriend, Alice, were standing next to th door to the boys' rooms, and Denzel Strife was coming into the common room, looking wary.

"Bit loud today, aren't you?" the teen asked. Sirius huffed and gasped as James made his appearance, pulling a shirt on over his head.

"For the love of Merlin, Padfoot, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Sirius shoved what was in his arms into James's face, and took a deep breath. "I was in the library," he ignored the laughter from Lily and Alice. "when I came across this book. It's called _Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone_. Got anyone named Harry in your family, Prongs?"

James tilted his head. The boy on the cover looked exactly like him, and it wasn't surprising as to why it had gotten Sirius so worked up. "Can't say that I do, mate."

Sirius was practically vibrating at this point. He leaned in close and whispered in James's ear, "This book was published in 1998. That's the future, Prongs! This Harry bloke could damn well be your kid!"

James blinked. "We'll just have to read it an find out then, won't we, Paddy?"

At this point, Remus had walked over with Lily.

"A book that has captured your attention?" Lily smirked. "and it's _not_ about Quidditch?"

"Let's give it a shot." Lupin said. He took the book and walked up to the dormitory where they could read without being overheard. People would think they were bonkers if they read this out loud. "What's the worst that could happen? It's not like reading a book will change our lives or anything."

"Me first!" Sirius cried, flopping onto his bed. Lupin examined the cover art and looked at all of the people in the room. There were six of them, so they could all take turns.

"If it is about the future, and this boy is indeed James's son, then I think he should read first." The sandy haired teen said. Lily smiled.

"I agree. We'll go clockwise from James. So it'll be James, myself, Remus, Alice, Frank and Sirius."

James nodded and took the book from his fellow Marauder, opening it to the first chapter. "The Boy Who Lived…"

**The Boy Who Lived**

Sirius grinned. He couldn't wait to find out if his hunch was correct! James took a deep breath and began reading.

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.**

Lily's eyebrows furrowed. Where had she heard the name Dursley before…?

**They were the last people you would expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with that nonsense.**

"What kind of nonsense?" asked Frank.

"I'm certain we'll find out if we keep reading," said Lily. "Keep going, James."

"You've got it, Evans!"

**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings,** **which made drills.**

"What are drills?" asked Alice.

"A Muggle tool," Remus answered. "It puts holes in things."

**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large moustache.** **Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors.**

Lily facevaulted. Oh, God. Mrs. Dursley sounded oddly like her sister, Petunia…and if what Sirius said was true, and this book was from the future, then…

Sirius laughed, "Who gets so bored that they spy on their neighbors?"

James ignored him and kept reading.

**The Dursley's had a small son named Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere. The Dursley's had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret,**

"The plot thickens," giggled smiled at his girlfriend.

**their greatest feat was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters. Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister,**

Lily sighed heavily. She knew it. Dursley was the last name of Petunia's boyfriend. After explaining that to the group (Alice asked why she had looked so troubled) she turned to attention back to James, who had kept going. She had to know what was going on.

"Oh, Petunia…" Lily sighed.

**but they hadn't met for several years; in fact Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, **(at this, Lily felt tears burn her eyes. So Tuney still didn't want anything to do with her, even after all this time?) **because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband **

Sirius gawked. "Prongs isn't a good-for-nothing!"

James blinked. "I'm not Lily's husband."

"Yet." Sirius added with a grin. Lily rolled her eyes and James smiled.

**were as unDursleyish**

"Is that even a word?" wondered Frank.

**as it was possible to be. The Dursley's shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived on the street.**

**The Dursley's knew that the Potters had a small son too, but they had never seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the potters away – they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

"What's wrong with my son?" James growled. Lily rolled her eyes.

"We don't even know if the Potter family they speak of is yours, James." She smirked a little. "And I won't believe that I'm 'Mrs. Potter', until I see it in print."

James grinned and nodded. "I'm gonna make you see the light, Eveans."

**Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work** **and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his highchair. None of them noticed a large tawny owl flutter past the window.**

Remus chuckled. "They must be quite unobservant then."

**At half-past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek and tried to kiss Dudley goodbye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.**

"Regulus used to do that," Sirius said, thinking of his younger brother.

**"Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house.**

"Little tyke? Sounds like that kid needs a pop on his behind," said Alice.

Everyone laughed at that.

**He got into his car and backed out of Number Four's drive. It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar. A cat reading a map.**

"It's Minnie!" Sirius cried. "Who else would read a newspaper in the form of a cat?"

**For a second Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen-then he jerked his head around to look again.**

**There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light.**

"Muggles will do anything to deny magic." Remus said with a shake of his head..

**Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in the mirror. It as now reading the sign that said Privet Drive, no looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs.**

"Unless you're Professor McGonagall," said James.

**Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day. But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else.**

**As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam,** **he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.**

Alice looked at Lily, "I guess Muggles don't wear cloaks?" Lily shook her head.

**Mr. Dursley couldn't bear to see people who dressed in funny clothes – the getups you saw on young people. He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdoes standing quite close by.**

**They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and was wearing an emerald-green cloak!**

Frank frowned, "What's wrong with that?"

**The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this probably was some silly stunt-these people were obviously collecting for something…yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on a few minutes later, and Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.**

**Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime.**

"He's never seen an owl? Who hasn't ever seen an owl before?" James wondered aloud.

**Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people.**

"And that's a good thing, how?" Lily asked.

**He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more.**

"What's a telephone?"

"It's like Floo-calling, but for Muggles," Remus said.

**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery. He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy.**

"That's because he doesn't like magic," stated Alice.

**This lot was whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bad, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

**"The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard-"**

**"-yes, their son, Harry-"**

"Oi, Prongs! It's your kid!"

"Shh! Be quiet and let him read!" Lily scolded.

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it.**

**He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home phone number before he thought better of it.**

**He put the receiver back down and stroked his moustache, thinking…no he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew**_**was**___**called Harry. He'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold.**

Lily laughed softly. Mr. Dursley was absurd.

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley, she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her – if he'd had a sister like that…but all the same, those people in cloaks. He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone outside the door.**

"Poor bloke, I hope he was okay."

**"Sorry,"**

"He knows that word?" Lily was shocked.

**he grunted at the tiny old man, stumbled, and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground.**

**"Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like you should be celebrating, this happy, happy day.**

"what? What's happened?" Alice asked. She shook Frank's shoulder.

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley round the middle and walked off. Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was.**

**He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**

**As he pulled into the driveway of Number Four, the first thing he saw – and it didn't improve his mood-was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings round it ears. "Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.**

"That's not gonna work. McGonagall only moves when she wants to," said Remus.

"How do you know it's even her?" Frank looked to the older boy.

"Just a hunch."

**Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife. Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word (Won't!).**

"The child is a brat if I've ever seen one." Alice said, and Lily nodded.

**Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

**"And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in all directions since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping patterns."**

Before Sirius could ask, Lily spoke, "Owls usually only appear at night."

**The newscaster allowed himself a grin.**

"Bet he's a Squib or Muggle-born," James thought.

**"Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be anymore showers of owls tonight, Jim?"**

**"Well, Ted,"**

"Hmmm, I wonder if that's that Tonks bloke from Hufflepuff. I know he's Muggle-born, maybe that's why the news guy seems to know something." Sirius looked to Lupin.

"Perhaps," Remus agreed.

**said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, They've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people are celebrating Bonfire Night a week early - it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."**

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters...**

**Mrs. Dursely came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her.** **He cleared his throat nervously. "Err – Petunia, dear - you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?" As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

**"No," she said sharply. "Why?"**

**"Funny stuff on the new," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls... shooting stars...and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today..."**

**"So?" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

**"Well, I thought...maybe...it was something to do with...you know...**_**her**_** crowd."**

_My crowd?_ Lily thought with a twinge of annoyance.

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter". He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son - he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

"**I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

"**What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**

"**Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

"I think it's a great name!" Lily snapped, glaring at the book. "It's better than Dudley."

**"Oh yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree." He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it was waiting for something.**

Sirius laughed, "That's gotta be Minnie."

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did...if it got out that they were related to a pair of - well, he didn't think he could bear it.**

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly, but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind.**

"Our kind?" James was outraged.

**He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on-he yawned and turned over - it couldn't affect them...**

"Lies, slander, and more lies." Chirped Alice with a grin.

**How very wrong he was.**

"See?"

"No one doubted you," said Frank.

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting off into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no signs of sleepiness. It was sitting still as a statue. It's eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed in the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all. A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground.**

"That's cool!"

**The cat's tail twitched and it's eyes narrowed. Nothing like this man had ever been seen in Privet Drive. he was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the sliver of his hair and beard, whcih were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak which swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice.**

"Half-moon spectacles -"

"Long nose that looked like it had been broken -"

"It's Dumbledore!" cried James and Sirius together.

**This man's name was Albus Dumbledore. Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived on a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome.**

**But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known" He had found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter.**

"What's a cigarette lighter?"

"I think it's used to make fire." said Lily.

**He flicked it open, held it up in the air and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again - the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve time he clicked the Put-Outer,until the only lights left in the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they couldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street towards number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.**

**"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGongall."**

"I knew it. I knew it!" cried Sirius

Lupin turned to his friend. "One more outburst, and I'm silencing you."

Sirius pouted but shut his mouth.

**He turned to simile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the marking the cat had around its eye. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled. "My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

**"You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.**

**"All day? When you could have been celebrating? I muse have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here." Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily. "Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no - even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." she jerked her head back at the Dursley's dark living room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls...shooting stars...Well, they're not completely stupid.**

"Not at all, Muggles are very intelligent!" Lily said. Her father was a doctor and her mother was a teacher, and both were very educated.

**They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent-I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

James grinned. "He's friends with my dad, he's a laugh, he is."

**"You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years.**

**'I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "but that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."**

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A find thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about as all. I suppose he really has, gone Dumbledore?"**

**"It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a sherbert lemon?"**

"A what?" Frank asked.

**"A what?"**

"Ooh! You're channeling Minnie!" Sirius said with a grin.

**"A sherbert lemon. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."**

**"No thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for sherbert lemons. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone-"**

**"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like you can call him by his name? All this You-Know-Who nonsense - for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name:**

James stopped. He glanced at everyone, who was watching eagerly.

**V-V-V-Voldemort.**

Sirius twitched and Alice looked away.

**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two sherbert lemons, seemed not to notice. "It gets all so confusing if we keep saying You-Know-Who."**

**"I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying** **Voldemort's**(flinch)**name."**

**"I know you haven't,' said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring.**

**"But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort,**(flinch)**was frightened of."**

**"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort**(flinch)**had powers I will never have."**

"You're just too noble to use them." Frank stated.

**"Only because you're too - well - noble to use them"**

Frank grinned.

**"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she like my new earmuffs."**

"Ew."

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing to the rumors that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

**"He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are-are-that they're-dead."**

James dropped the book in shock. Lily's mouth had opened a little, and there were tears in her eyes.

"My son is an orphan?" she whispered.

Remus couldn't believe that James and Lily were dead, it just seemed impossible to him. He looked at James, and in that instand he vowed to protect the other wizard; and Lily too. Nothing would happen to them. _Nothing!_

Sirius cleared his throat and gave a weak smile.

"Er, look at it this way, mate. You marry Lily."

Said girl's cheeks flushed and James grinned at her. He picked up the book again and continued reading.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped. "Lily and James...I can't believe it...I didn't want to believe it...Oh, Albus..."**

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder.**

**"I know...I know.." he said heavily. Professor McGonagall's voice tembled as she went on."That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potters' son Harry. But-he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke-and that's why he's gone."**

Total. Silence.

"My son…defeated _Voldemort_?" James gaped like a fish for a second and then sprang up from his bed, and jumped for joy. "My son beat Voldemort! Whoohooooo!" He and Sirius danced together, chanting some nonsense about Voldemort getting beaten by an infant, and Lily laughed through her tears. At least Harry was alive. That's all that mattered to her, that her baby was safe.

**"It's-it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done...all the people he's killed...he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding."**

"It really is…" Frank murmured.

"**Of all the things to stop him…but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?" **(James stated that harry, like himself, has been awesome since birth, and that's why.)** "We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know." Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge.**

**It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

**"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?"**

**"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."**

Sirius gaped. "Whaaaat?! What about Moony and me, Prongs?!" he was shocked that he and Remus weren't there to take care of Harry.

"I'm sure you're both there, but maybe something happened?"

**"You don't mean - you can't mean the people who live here?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at Number Four. "Dumbledore - you can't. I've been watching them all da**y. **You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son - I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets."**

**"It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**

"Because a letter will totally get through to _them_." Alice sneered.

**"A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all of this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous - a legend - I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future - there will be books written about Harry**

"Here's proof!" Sirius cried.

**- every child in our world will know his name!"**

**"Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head."**

**"So, you're taking him there to keep him humble," mused Arthur. "Great thinking, but it just isn't the right family."**

"Damn right it isn't!" Sirius yelled. "Harry has _us_, right Moony?"

Remus nodded sharply.

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes - yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

**"Hagrid's bringing him."**

"**You think it - wise - to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**

"I'd trust Hagrid with my life," said James

"Me too." Added Frank.

**"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

The two teens stared at each other and shrugged with a grin.

**"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to - what was that?"**

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as the both looked up at the sky - and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

Sirius had a look of bliss on his face. "I'd love one…" he thought of the crappy CBR in his room back home, he'd been enchanting it.

James knew exactly what his best friend was thinking and he laughed.

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it.**

**He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five time as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild-long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of dustbin lids and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets. "Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

**"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. Young Sirius Black lent it to me."**

Said teen let out a victorious war cry.

**"No problems, were there?"**

**"No, sir - house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' round. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol" Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair**

Lily and alice 'awww'-ed, and James grinned. So his son looked like him, eh?

**and ****over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

Everyone frowned.

**"Is that where -?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

**"Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have the scar forever."**

**"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**

**"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in useful. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground."**

"Really?" asked Alice. "that's neat."

**"Well - give him here, Hagrid-we'd better get this over with."**

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned towards the Dursleys' house. "Could I-could I say goodbye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid.**

**He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog. "Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"**

**"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it-Lily an' James dead-an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles-"**

**"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm a Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep,**

Lily gasped. "_What if he fell off? Harry's a baby, he could die if he hit his head!"_

James smiled at the girl. "I'm sure he charmed it so Harry wouldn't fall, Lily."

Lily felt her heart skip a beat. Was she really going to marry and start a family with his man? (A/N: Yup!)

**took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle: Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously and the twinkling light that usually shone in Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out. "Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

Remus was bust plotting a way to keep harry from going to the Dursley's, and preventing James and Lily's deaths.

**"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night Professor McGongall-Professor Dumbledore, sir"**

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorbike and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night. "I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her.**

**Professor McGonagall blew he nose in reply. Dumbledore walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange** **and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of Number Four. A breeze ruffled the hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen.**

**Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing h would be woken up in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, not that he would spend the next few weeks beig prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley...he couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter - the boy who lived!"**

James shut the book and sighed heavily. This was a lot of information to take in, both good and bad. But there were still a good fifteen to twenty chapters left to read, so who knows what would happen?

"Hey, Paddy, let's go to the library and see if there are more books like these."

Sirius nodded and they all got up and left the room.

The search was on.


End file.
